A group of investors from Mauritius are currently in talks with the government to invest in sugar production, an official in the Ministry of Trade and Industry has said.

Emmanuel Hategeka, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, said the group that comprises of global investors, has already completed preliminary studies to identify where the sugar factory will be established.

“Currently, the group is in the last phase of feasibility studies; and based on their findings, we shall have to discuss the way forward,” Hategeka said.

The studies are being conducted in the Eastern Province; the same area where similar studies that were conducted in the 90s proved some places as being suitable.

Amboasary — The dry, spiny forests of southern Madagascar comprise one of the most unique ecosystems in the world, but they are becoming increasingly endangered as residents of the arid, food-insecure region cut down trees to make way for cultivation and to produce charcoal.

In an effort to slow the rapid deforestation and to address chronic food insecurity, the World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), is replanting 1,000 hectares of trees through food-for-work projects reaching 60,000 beneficiaries.

The Republic of Mauritius continues to develop its own agriculture based on the use of hydroponic technology. The African island has already more than 300 multi-level, specialized and fully automated farms.

The main products are tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers, melons and cucumbers. And a coconut fiber is used as a necessary substrate. But already now farmers from Mauritius say they are getting harvests which are 15-20 times higher than the normal level. The island farmers successfully provide the internal needs of the population in fresh vegetables and in a short time plan to export their products.

Port-Louis — Rani Murthy, a public officer who lives in Plaines Wilhems, central Mauritius, wakes at three every morning to wait for the water tanker from the Central Water Authority so that she can collect water for cooking and household chores.

“This is not a life. Waking at three to collect water, doing household work before seven, and then going to work. I come back at night, look after the kids, prepare food, have dinner, go to sleep around midnight and get up again at three. If not, we will stay without water,” says Murthy.

But scenes of people queuing for water are recurrent on several parts of the island. As local reservoirs run dry, running water has become a luxury here.

Mauritius will implement a national biosafety framework on the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to ensure that the health of the population and the environment are not put in danger, Agro-Industry and Food Production Minister Satish Faugoo announced on Thursday.

At a workshop organized with the support of the United Nations Environment Programme and Global Environment Facility in Port Louis, Faugoo said GMO crops can be part of the answer in global food security but people must know what they are eating.

He said there is a lingering fear in the public about GMO foods although such concerns are mainly a lack of proper public awareness and information on such foods. He said the government has the responsibility to ensure that the benefits of GMO products outweigh the risks of producing and consuming them.